Lightmancer
Legend
- Location
- Sunny Frimley
- Name
- Bill Palmer
Well, I picked this lens up today from my friendly local crack dealer, London Camera Exchange in Guildford, with £250 off courtesy of the Fujifilm offer on the X-T1. It hasn't taken me long to take it out for a quick wander.
First Impressions:
This is a chunky lens. It tips the scales at just under half a kilo (490g) which makes the 18-55 at 310g look like Twiggy. In fact it's not much lighter than the 55-200 which comes in at 580g. In terms of size it comes neatly between the two, thus:
Fit and finish:
Finish is what we have now come to expect from Fuji - solid, chunky and well-made. The barrel extends when zooming and is clearly plastic. There are two vents on the underside for the WR capability, but otherwise it is familiar territory for anyone who has used a Fujinon lens before; nicely weighted zoom, aperture and focus rings with the finely milled "dust trap" grips. There is some resistance to zooming out to 135mm but otherwise everything is smooth. Held face down there was no zoom creep. The lens hood is a petal-type affair as we have seen on the 18-55 and others, although this one is significantly bigger, as befits the 67mm filter thread. It's not a tight fit, and I feared I might knock it out of true, although this didn't happen today. The only other controls on the lens are the familiar aperture/auto and OIS sliders in the same place as on it's older siblings.
Mounting on a camera:
I bought this lens to fit on my X-T1, thereby giving me a weather-resistant DSLR capability - ideal for Frimley in the Autumn. It fits, of course, on the other cameras in the X stable, balancing surprisingly well on the X-Pro1 but looking (and feeling) more than somewhat top-heavy on the X-E1.
Fujifilm XF 18-135 fits on an X-Pro1 par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 fits better on an X-T1 par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 fits on an X-Pro1 2 par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 fits better on an X-T1 2 par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fair to say, however, I wouldn't try it without the vertical grip attached. Together the X-T1 and lens would make a substantial dent in the floor if dropped - I wouldn't recommend it.
In use:
Now, there is nothing scientific about the following shots. I have simply set out to use the 18-135 as I would in real-world conditions. For the purposes of this exercise, I left it mounted on the X-Pro, just because I could. I used it (mostly) in aperture priority mode, wide open. A couple of the shots are in Program mode - the slider switch is quite easily knocked as you heft the weight of this lens. On the X-Pro I used it solely in EVF mode; it would work with the optical viewfinder at the wider settings, but I didn't see the point for today's exercise. All shots are uncropped unless clearly stated and have received no PP. The camera was set to "vivid" throughout; the mono conversions were done using Topaz Labs.
Subject matter is my desk, followed by the local cemetery, a short walk away. The statues stand still and were ideal for the purpose. It was an overcast but mild day; when it rains I'll take it out with the X-T1 for a "wet test".
So, first meet Tigger. He holds my business card, for I can never remember my 'phone number:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 1 @ 135mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
And again with a 100% crop:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 1 @135mm 100% crop par Lightmancer, on ipernity
This at 1/80 sec at an equivalent focal length of 206mm.
Now off to the graveyard.
These shots illustrate the difference in angle of view between 18mm and 135mm; they are taken from the same spot:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 6 Madonna @18mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 6 Madonna @ 122mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
And these the difference between 55mm (the top end of the 18-55mm) and 135mm in practice:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 10 Angel @ 55mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 10 Angel @ 135mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
...the second shot is not a crop of the first.
Another at the 18mm end:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 4 @ 18mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
...and 135mm. I've converted this shot to mono, and done a 100% crop. This was wide open at f5.6 and shows "interesting" blur in the OOF highlights:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 10 Jesus @ 135mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
...more noticable in the mono renditions:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 10 Jesus @ 135mm mono par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 10 Jesus @ 135mm mono 100% crop par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Here's a bit of gratuitous greenery:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 7 @ 80mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
And some plinth action:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 8 Plinth @ 50mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 8 Plinth @ 50mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 8 Plinth @ 50mm 100% crop par Lightmancer, on ipernity
And finally what wander through a churchyard is complete without a bit of a gargoyle:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 11 par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Verdict:
Overall, I like this lens. It isn't as sharp as the primes, but it acquits itself well in real-world use. I was surprised how well it matched with the X-Pro1, although for me at least that isn't the intended body. I had toyed with the idea of selling off the 18-55 as surplus to requirements, but the weight of this lens in comparison means that the 18-55 still has a place in the bag for a day spent wandering around in the city if I don't want to carry all those extra grams. I like the handling, and although I haven't really challenged either the OIS or the WR yet, I don'd doubt they will do the job. I'll probably invest in a collapsible rubber hood for wet weather use - I suspect the petal hood won't really protect that big front element from wayward drips and splashes. Mine wears a filter already and I would advise anyone else to do the same. This isn't the cheapest, fastest or lightest lens on the block, but it is a damn useful range of focal lengths in a handy package and deserves to sell like the proverbial hot cakes.
Well done, Fuji - another winner.
You can see these images full-size and a few more with this lens here: Fuji XF 18-135 First Impressions on Ipernity
First Impressions:
This is a chunky lens. It tips the scales at just under half a kilo (490g) which makes the 18-55 at 310g look like Twiggy. In fact it's not much lighter than the 55-200 which comes in at 580g. In terms of size it comes neatly between the two, thus:
Fit and finish:
Finish is what we have now come to expect from Fuji - solid, chunky and well-made. The barrel extends when zooming and is clearly plastic. There are two vents on the underside for the WR capability, but otherwise it is familiar territory for anyone who has used a Fujinon lens before; nicely weighted zoom, aperture and focus rings with the finely milled "dust trap" grips. There is some resistance to zooming out to 135mm but otherwise everything is smooth. Held face down there was no zoom creep. The lens hood is a petal-type affair as we have seen on the 18-55 and others, although this one is significantly bigger, as befits the 67mm filter thread. It's not a tight fit, and I feared I might knock it out of true, although this didn't happen today. The only other controls on the lens are the familiar aperture/auto and OIS sliders in the same place as on it's older siblings.
Mounting on a camera:
I bought this lens to fit on my X-T1, thereby giving me a weather-resistant DSLR capability - ideal for Frimley in the Autumn. It fits, of course, on the other cameras in the X stable, balancing surprisingly well on the X-Pro1 but looking (and feeling) more than somewhat top-heavy on the X-E1.
Fujifilm XF 18-135 fits on an X-Pro1 par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 fits better on an X-T1 par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 fits on an X-Pro1 2 par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 fits better on an X-T1 2 par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fair to say, however, I wouldn't try it without the vertical grip attached. Together the X-T1 and lens would make a substantial dent in the floor if dropped - I wouldn't recommend it.
In use:
Now, there is nothing scientific about the following shots. I have simply set out to use the 18-135 as I would in real-world conditions. For the purposes of this exercise, I left it mounted on the X-Pro, just because I could. I used it (mostly) in aperture priority mode, wide open. A couple of the shots are in Program mode - the slider switch is quite easily knocked as you heft the weight of this lens. On the X-Pro I used it solely in EVF mode; it would work with the optical viewfinder at the wider settings, but I didn't see the point for today's exercise. All shots are uncropped unless clearly stated and have received no PP. The camera was set to "vivid" throughout; the mono conversions were done using Topaz Labs.
Subject matter is my desk, followed by the local cemetery, a short walk away. The statues stand still and were ideal for the purpose. It was an overcast but mild day; when it rains I'll take it out with the X-T1 for a "wet test".
So, first meet Tigger. He holds my business card, for I can never remember my 'phone number:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 1 @ 135mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
And again with a 100% crop:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 1 @135mm 100% crop par Lightmancer, on ipernity
This at 1/80 sec at an equivalent focal length of 206mm.
Now off to the graveyard.
These shots illustrate the difference in angle of view between 18mm and 135mm; they are taken from the same spot:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 6 Madonna @18mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 6 Madonna @ 122mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
And these the difference between 55mm (the top end of the 18-55mm) and 135mm in practice:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 10 Angel @ 55mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 10 Angel @ 135mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
...the second shot is not a crop of the first.
Another at the 18mm end:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 4 @ 18mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
...and 135mm. I've converted this shot to mono, and done a 100% crop. This was wide open at f5.6 and shows "interesting" blur in the OOF highlights:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 10 Jesus @ 135mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
...more noticable in the mono renditions:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 10 Jesus @ 135mm mono par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 10 Jesus @ 135mm mono 100% crop par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Here's a bit of gratuitous greenery:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 7 @ 80mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
And some plinth action:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 8 Plinth @ 50mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 8 Plinth @ 50mm par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Fujifilm XF 18-135 8 Plinth @ 50mm 100% crop par Lightmancer, on ipernity
And finally what wander through a churchyard is complete without a bit of a gargoyle:
Fujifilm XF 18-135 11 par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Verdict:
Overall, I like this lens. It isn't as sharp as the primes, but it acquits itself well in real-world use. I was surprised how well it matched with the X-Pro1, although for me at least that isn't the intended body. I had toyed with the idea of selling off the 18-55 as surplus to requirements, but the weight of this lens in comparison means that the 18-55 still has a place in the bag for a day spent wandering around in the city if I don't want to carry all those extra grams. I like the handling, and although I haven't really challenged either the OIS or the WR yet, I don'd doubt they will do the job. I'll probably invest in a collapsible rubber hood for wet weather use - I suspect the petal hood won't really protect that big front element from wayward drips and splashes. Mine wears a filter already and I would advise anyone else to do the same. This isn't the cheapest, fastest or lightest lens on the block, but it is a damn useful range of focal lengths in a handy package and deserves to sell like the proverbial hot cakes.
Well done, Fuji - another winner.
You can see these images full-size and a few more with this lens here: Fuji XF 18-135 First Impressions on Ipernity